Last week I had the pleasure of visiting Park House Hotel and Spa nestled in the heart of the Sussex countryside surrounded by the spectacular rolling hills of the South Downs. I made the decision to visit because I felt pretty burnt after burning the candle at both ends. I had a stinking cold and craved the clean air of the countryside and some creature comforts. Being under two hours from London I couldn’t think of anywhere better to rest up and reboot.
As I drove deeper into the Sussex countryside I felt instantly charmed and grateful for its breathtaking natural beauty.… Continue reading...

Until six months ago I had no idea who Sam Harris was. Little did I know then how much this neuroscientist, philosopher, and bestselling author would enrich my life with his philosophical wisdom and meditation techniques, (the former available for free by subscribing to his podcast and the latter as well as some of the former available by subscribing to his Waking Up meditation app). I owe an Aussie for telling me about Sam Harris earlier this year when I visited Sydney and ever since discovering him I’ve listened to his podcasts, read one of his books (Waking Up) and more recently, followed his lessons and meditations via his app.… Continue reading...

In the last six months I’d heard a lot about Peloton. One of my favourite podcasts – The Tim Ferris show – is sponsored by peloton and that alone was enough to make me eager to try it since I trust Tim’s high reviews to be legit – sponsored or not. But at this point, Peloton was only available in the USA. I forgot about it for a while until my friend and runner extraordinare Becs Gentry, moved from London across the pond to NYC to instruct the studio run classes. I’ve been captivated by her IG stories where Becs shares snip-bits of the Peloton classes she teaches.… Continue reading...

I recently ran the Berlin marathon with some wireless headphones with a pretty pricey cost attached. They were worth the investment for me but since then I’ve trialled the Audio-technica wireless headphones which are cheaper yet still high quality. So, since many of you have been asking about a cheaper alternative I really don’t know a better suggestion than these.
The ATH-SPORT 70BT wireless in-ear headphones feature 9 mm performance-enhanced, carbon-coated drivers which basically means they deliver clear and powerful audio. When I’m hitting the track especially for my speed workouts this is important to me! The powerful beats really do help to push me to keep faster pace.… Continue reading...

Before Berlin I was impatient to run my first marathon. Having learnt my lesson that the transition from casual runner to marathoner was not a quick, mind-over matter affair I enlisted the expert help of run coach and tier three trainer at Equinox Kensington, Jane Vongvorachoti. I want to share five top ways my coaching with Jane proved invaluable for completing my first marathon because I hope it will inspire you to also get one-to-one expert guidance with your marathon training and therefore avoid injury and run your strongest marathon. Online marathon programs are flawed and leave so many people like me (pre London) every year injured.… Continue reading...

The day after Berlin marathon my body felt like it had been beaten up! Getting in and out of the bath was a struggle and getting in and out of cabs proved tricky too. I felt like an old lady! My left knee had taken most of my early fall in the race and both my knees were pretty swollen, sore, bruised and bloody. I had to limp around because my left knee was too painful to bend and I couldn’t stand for long periods of time due to my sore fatigued abs, which surprised me.
After I stepped over the finish line
My coach Jane Vongvorachoti had stressed the importance of walking back from the marathon to ensure my blood didn’t pool in my legs and slow my recovery.… Continue reading...

Wake-up
I woke up at 6AM after a very sound solid night’s sleep. Funnily enough I didn’t feel nervous. Perhaps it was the hormones casting me into a daze or perhaps it was blissful ignorance of what was to come. Having had ten days off I think I’d forgotten some of the challenges of training and running long distances! But either way I felt good and ready to run. The forecast for the race was 23°C which I knew was on the warm side but I was prepared with a cap and sunscreen and just counted my lucky stars it wasn’t extreme conditions like the freezing rain that hit Boston Marathon earlier this year or the 28°C that was forecasted a day later.… Continue reading...

I arrived in Berlin on the evening of Thursday 13th September – two days out from my first ever marathon. On Friday I walked the two miles from my hotel to the start line situated within Tiergarten park by the infamous Brandenburg gate. I wanted to know exactly where I was going on race day and start psyching myself up for the ever nearing 26.2 miles.
My coach, Jane Vongvorachoti, had advised me to save energy so after seeing the start area I caught a bike cab to save my legs, had a super healthy lunch at Avocai food and Pilates studio and then took a taxi to the expo.… Continue reading...

The Training
I gave myself about two months to train for Berlin marathon. It wasn’t enough but thankfully it got me through.
I was super eager to complete my first marathon. After getting injured following an online plan for London marathon earlier this year (please never rely on these because, for one thing, they are completely lacking in strength training and I’ve heard of so many people like me who got injured by following them), I had been successfully rebuilding my fitness levels but wanted expert guidance to optimise my preparation for Berlin.
My expert help came in the form of Jane Vongvorachoti, an olympic runner who also trains clients at Equinox London and lead the Equinox team through Boston marathon.… Continue reading...

The final word
When you make any decision you have to know why. And when you make a decision that breaks from convention or the norm, you have to understand that why inside and out. You have to know what you want to achieve and you have to be excited about getting there. You have to be curious and you have to want something more for yourself other than what you’ve been getting. Expect to scrutinise your personality, your decisions and what you stand for and what you want to stand for. Know whose opinion matters to you and whose doesn’t.… Continue reading...